Foot massaging treadmill

ABSTRACT

A foot massaging treadmill including a supporting base mounted close to the floor. The supporting base includes a supporting board, an endless running belt slidably extending around the supporting board, and driving rollers for driving the running belt to move around the supporting board in a longitudinal direction of the supporting board. The upper surface of the running belt forms a user supporting surface. The supporting surface of the running belt provides a plurality of upward protrusions for applying pressure force to the user&#39;s foot soles. The treadmill massages the user&#39;s foot soles by the protrusions. Thus, the user will feel comfortable even after a long time of exercise.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to China application no.200710004008.5, filed on Jan. 19, 2007.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a treadmill, especially to a treadmillwhich provides foot massage to the foot soles of a user of thetreadmill.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, treadmills or running machines become popular forin-door physical exercising. A traditional treadmill mainly comprises ahorizontal or slanted supporting base and a frame with handrails. Thesupporting base comprises an elongated rigid supporting board. Drivingrollers are mounted proximate to one or both of the longitudinal ends ofthe supporting board. An elastic endless running belt extends around thesupporting board and the driving rollers, thus providing a slanted flatrunning surface. When the user is running on the running surface, therunning belt is driven by the driving rollers to move in a directionreverse to the forwarding direction of the user. Thus the user can walkor run on the treadmill.

In traditional treadmills, the supporting board and/or the running beltare substantially flat. When walking or running on the treadmills, theuser's foot soles consecutively contact with the flat running surface ofthe treadmill. In this way, the user will feel fatigue or pain on his orher feet after a long time of walking or running on the treadmill, nomatter whether he or she wears shoes or not. If the fatigue or pain isserious, the user needs to have special massage to the feet to releasethe stress. In addition, according to current medical study, regularcontacting and massaging the reflection areas or acupoints of the footsole can, at a certain extent, improve the condition of human body andprevent illness.

Therefore, it is desirable to have a treadmill which can massage theuser's feet when the user is exercising on the treadmill. It is expectedthat, by this treadmill, the user can exercise his or her body and feelcomfortable on his or her feet even after a long time of exercising.

SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

An object of the present disclosure is to overcome the disadvantages ofthe prior art. To this end, the present invention provides a footmassaging treadmill comprising a supporting base mounted close to thefloor, wherein the supporting base comprises a supporting board, anendless running belt slidably extending around the supporting board, anddriving rollers for driving the running belt to move around thesupporting board in a longitudinal direction of the supporting board,with the upper surface of the running belt forming a user supportingsurface, and wherein the supporting surface of the running belt providesa plurality of upward protrusions for applying pressure force to theuser's foot soles.

The protrusions can be provided on the outer surface of the running beltand the supporting board is substantially flat. In this case, theprotrusions can be integrally formed on the running belt. Alternatively,the protrusions are single pieces formed separately and are thenremovably attached to the running belt. Alternatively, some of theprotrusions are integrally formed on the running belt, and the remainingprotrusions are single pieces formed separately and are then removablyattached to the running belt.

Alternatively, the protrusions are provided on the upper surface of thesupporting board and the running belt is substantially flat. In thiscase, the protrusions can be integrally formed on the supporting board.Alternatively, the protrusions are single pieces formed separately andare then removably attached to the supporting board. Alternatively, someof the protrusions are integrally formed on the supporting board, andthe remaining protrusions are single pieces formed separately and arethen removably attached to the supporting board.

Preferably, the treadmill further comprises a frame mounted to the frontside of the supporting base. The frame may include handrails.

Preferably, the treadmill further comprises a control panel mounted tothe frame.

Preferably, the protrusions are regularly distributed. In this case, theprotrusions have the same separating distance and the same arrangingpattern.

Alternatively, the protrusions are irregularly distributed. In thiscase, the protrusions have different separating distances and/ordifferent arranging patterns.

Preferably, the protrusions have the same shape and size. Alternatively,the protrusions have different shapes and/or sizes.

Alternatively, the protrusions comprises a plurality of sets ofprotrusions, the shape and/or the size of each set of protrusions aredifferent from that of other sets of protrusions. In this case, theplurality of sets of protrusions can be arranged in an alternatingmanner. Alternatively, the outer surface of the running belt is dividedinto a plurality of zones, each zone containing a set of protrusions ofthe same shape and size, and the shapes and/or the sizes of theprotrusions in different zones are different from each other.

Alternatively, the running belt comprises a plurality of zones, theprotrusions are provided in some of the zones.

Preferably, the top surfaces of the protrusions, which are to be incontact with the user's foot soles, have smooth transition shapes.

Preferably, the protrusions are formed by an elastic rubber material.

Preferably, the running belt and the protrusions are covered with anelastic protective layer.

Preferably, the protrusions are sized for stimulating the acupoints orthe reflection areas of the foot soles. For example, the protrusionseach have a lateral size of a few millimeters. The arranging density ofthe protrusions may be about two hundred to about one thousandprotrusions per square meter

Preferably, the protrusions each have a hemisphere shape. Other shapesfor the protrusions are also possible.

According to the present disclosure, the treadmill provides massage tothe user's foot soles by the protrusions. Thus, the user will feelcomfortable even after a long time of exercise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The present invention will be described in details with reference to thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a complete treadmill according to thefirst embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A is a top view of a running belt of the treadmill of the firstembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B is a side view of the running belt of the treadmill of the firstembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2C is a partly enlarged side view of the encircled portion of therunning belt shown in FIG. 2B;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the running belt of the treadmill ofthe first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B is a partly enlarged view of the encircled portion of therunning belt shown in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 3B;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a complete treadmill of the secondembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a running belt of the treadmill of thesecond embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B is a side view of the running belt shown in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C is a partly enlarged side view of the encircled portion of therunning belt shown in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the treadmill of the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the treadmill of the third embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 7B is a sectional view of a supporting board of the treadmill ofthe third embodiment of the present invention taken along the line I-Iof FIG. 7A, wherein the running belt is attached to the supportingboard; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the treadmill of the third embodiment ofthe present invention, with the supporting board being partly shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1, 4, 6, 7A and 8 schematically show some preferred embodiments ofthe treadmill according to the present disclosure. As shown in thesefigures, the treadmill 1 mainly comprises a supporting base 200 mountedclose to the floor and a frame 100 mounted to the front side of thesupporting base 200. Preferably, the treadmill 1 further comprises acontrol panel 50 attached to the frame 100, and the like.

The frame 100 comprises a base frame 7 supported on the floor, verticalupright stands 3 mounted on the base frame 7, handrails 4 mounted on theupper ends of the upright stands providing arm rest for the user's arms,a crossbar 5 mounted to the handrails for supporting the control panel50, and the like.

The supporting base 200, which supports the user who is walking orrunning on it, comprises side bars 9 located on both the right and leftsides of the supporting base, a substantially flat supporting board 12(not shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 and 7A), an endless or loop-like running belt11 slidably extending around the supporting board 12, one or moredriving rollers (not shown) for driving the endless running belt 11 tocirculate around the supporting board 12 in a longitudinal direction ofthe supporting board, and the like. The top surface of the running belt11 forms a supporting surface for supporting the user.

Here, in an illustrative manner, various components of the treadmillaccording to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedbriefly.

As shown in the figures, the front end of the supporting base 200 ismounted to the upright stands 3 at its opposite sides by fasteners 6such as screws, such that, when the supporting base 200 rests on thefloor, it remains horizontal or slanted. The base frame 7 is optionallyprovided to the lower end of the upright stands 3 for contacting withthe floor.

Optionally, a back frame 8 is provided at the back end of the supportingbase 200 so as to be opposite to the base frame 7. The treadmill 1 is incontact with the floor by the base frame 7 and the back frame 8. A mainswitch, a control circuit and the like for the treadmill may be providedin the back frame 8.

Preferably, the slanted angle of the supporting base 200 is adjustable,so that the supporting base 200 is in a horizontal direction or in alongitudinal slanted direction within a range of slanted angle.

The handrails 4 are mounted to the upright stands 3, as shown in thefigures, and optionally provide support means to be grasped by theuser's hands. Preferably, the crossbar 5, which attaches to thehandrails 4, carries the control panel 50 in a known manner. The controlpanel 50 may be integrated with various keys, buttons, electricinterfaces and displays, such as keys for adjusting the running speedand displays for indicating the exercising parameters. For example, aswell known in the art, the heart beats of the user can be sensed bysensors provided in the handrails 4, the running speed and total runningdistance can be calculated based on the output of an electric motor fordriving the driving rollers, and the weight of the user can be measuredby force sensors mounted in the supporting base 200. Then, all theseparameters can be displayed on the displays of the control panel 50, andthe user may read out the exercise condition and adjust the exerciseintensity and/or time.

In the treadmill according to the embodiments of the present invention,the supporting board 12 is generally a lengthened board made of a rigidmaterial such as plank, rigid resin or metal, such that it hassufficient strength for carrying the running user via the running beltand bearing the shocks from the user's feet.

One or more driving rollers are driving by the electric motor. Forexample, two driving rollers may be provided at the front and back endsof the supporting board respectively and rotatably mounted between theside bars 9, wherein only the front driving roller is connected with theelectric motor via a transmission or speed reduction mechanism and theback driving roller is just a follower. Alternatively, both drivingrollers are driven by the electric motor in a synchronized manner. Therunning belt 11 is driven by the driving rollers to run circulativelyaround the supporting board. Preferably, the moving direction and/orspeed of the running belt 11 are adjustable. In most cases, duringrunning, the supporting surface of the running belt 11 moves backwardly,so that the user walks or runs on the supporting surface in a regularway. However, sometimes the user may want to walk reversely, and in thiscase the supporting surface of the running belt should move forwardly.The forward moving speed of the supporting surface should be limitedfrom becoming too high, to avoid the user falling off the treadmill.

Preferably, shielding covers 10 are mounted to the front end of thesupporting base 200 at right and left sides, for shielding the rotatingcomponents of the transmission mechanism from being touched or contactedby the user when exercising or manipulating the treadmill.

As an important feature of the present invention, the supporting surfaceof the running belt 11 is provided with or formed with upwardprotrusions which are intended to act on the user's foot soles formassaging the foot soles, especially the acupoints or the reflectionareas of the foot soles.

The protrusions are either formed on the outer surface of the runningbelt 11, or formed on the upper surface of the supporting board 12 whichcarries the running belt 11. These two conditions will be describedbelow respectively.

In the treadmill of the first embodiment of the present disclosure asshown in FIG. 1, the running belt 11 extends around the driving rollersand the supporting board in the supporting base 200 in a known manner,and the protrusions are formed or provided on the running belt 11. Whenthe user is running or walking, the running belt 11 is driven by thedriving rollers to slidingly run with respect to the supporting board.

FIGS. 2A to 2C show the running belt 11 of the treadmill of the firstembodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A shows a top view ofthe running belt 11 and FIG. 2B shows a side view of the running belt11. It can be seen that the running belt 11 is an endless loop belt.FIG. 2C is an enlarged side view showing the circled portion of FIG. 2B.As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the running belt 11 of the treadmill of thefirst embodiment of the present invention is formed by an elastic loopsubstrate. The substrate is a flat endless belt substrate. A pluralityof upward protrusions 30 are formed or provided on the outer surface ofthe running belt 11. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the plurality ofprotrusions 30 are irregularly (randomly) disposed on the outer surfaceof the running belt 11, so as to randomly massage the user's foot soles.For example, the separating distances between the protrusions 30 as wellas the arranging order or pattern of the protrusions are variable.

However, the plurality of protrusions 30 may also be disposed on theouter surface of the running belt 11 regularly. In other words, theprotrusions 30 are disposed in a predetermined order or pattern. Forexample, the separating distance between the protrusions 30 as well asthe arranging order or pattern of the protrusions may be constant.

In this context, when describing the directions relating to the runningbelt 11, inside (or inner) refers to a side in contact with the drivingrollers or the supporting board. On the other hand, outside (or outer)refers to the opposite side facing away from the inside.

Preferably, the outer surfaces of the protrusions 30, or the surfacesfacing outside, are formed with smooth transition contours, or in otherwords, without any sharp edge or point, so that when the user stands onthe running belt 11, he or she will not feel uncomfortable or be hurt bythe protrusions.

In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality ofprotrusions 30 may have completely different shapes and/or sizes. Ofcourse, this structure will result in a high manufacture cost.Alternatively, the protrusions 30 may comprise a plurality of sets ofprotrusions, the shape and/or the size of each set of protrusions aredifferent from that of other sets of protrusions. For example, from thetop view (as shown in FIG. 2A), the protrusions 30 may have at least oneshape selected from a group consisting of: circular, elliptical,triangle, oblong, square, irregular shapes and the like. Circular shapeis preferable. Top surfaces of the protrusions 30, which are to becontacted with the user's foot soles, have smooth transition shapes. Forexample, from a side view (as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C) it can be seenthat the cross sections of the protrusions 30 are preferably ofsemicircular, circular, rounded or similar shapes. Further, theprotrusions 30 may have different sizes. For example, the protrusions 30have different heights.

Optionally, the heights of the protrusions 30 are set in a manner that,when the user stands on the running belt 11 for walking or running, withhis or her feet being bare or with socks only or with thin and elasticshoes on his or her feet, the user will not feel pain or discomfort onhis or her feet. Meanwhile, the protrusions 30 may have different outersurface areas.

The plural sets of protrusions 30 can be arranged in an alternating ormixed manner. Alternatively, the outer surface of the running belt 11can be divided into a plurality of zones, each zone including only oneset of protrusions with the same shape and size and the protrusions indifferent zones having different shapes and/or sizes.

FIG. 3A shows a perspective view of the running belt 11 of the treadmillof the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3A,the protrusions 30 are disposed on the running belt 11 in an irregularmanner.

In the treadmill of the first embodiment of the present disclosure, therunning belt 11 is formed in a manner known in the art. For example, therunning belt 11 comprises a fabric layer and elastomeric layers formedon the inner and outer sides of the fabric layer respectively. Thefabric layer may be formed by woven fibers of any suitable materialssuch as polyester. The elastomeric layers are formed by any suitablematerials such as rubbers, plastics, resins and polymers and are adheredto the fabric layer through any suitable process such as molding orcasting. The inside and outside surfaces of the running belt 11 aresubstantially flat surfaces.

As shown in FIGS. 2C and 3C, the protrusions 30 are provided on theouter surface of the running belt 11. In the embodiment shown in FIG.3C, the protrusions 30 are integrally formed on the running belt 11. Inthis case, the material of the protrusions 30 may be the same as that ofthe outer layer (or the above mentioned elastomeric layer) of therunning belt 11, so that the protrusions can be integrally formed withthe running belt in the same processing step. Optionally, theprotrusions 30 can be individual pieces formed separately and thenremovably mounted to the running belt 11 in any suitable manner such asby snap-locks, screws or the like. In this case, the running belt 11 ispreferably formed with engaging features for cooperating withcorresponding connection features of the protrusions 30. For example,the engaging features can be recesses, screw threads or the like whilethe connection features can be inserts to be inserted into the recesses,corresponding screw threads or the like. Optionally, some of theprotrusions 30 are integrally formed on the running belt 11, while theremaining protrusions are removably mounted to the running belt 11. Forexample, protrusions which are larger or smaller than normalprotrusions, protrusions having particular massaging functions, orprotrusions which are likely to be damaged, can be removably mounted tothe running belt 11 at corresponding locations. If some protrusions 30are removably mounted to the running belt 11, the material of theseprotrusions 30 can be different from that of the corresponding part ofthe running belt 11. For example, the material of these protrusions canbe harder or softer than that of the running belt 11.

Preferably, the protrusions 30 are formed by an elastic rubber material.

It should be noted that, in this context, the massage to the foot solesshould be such massage which, when the user is walking or running on thetreadmill 1, creates pressure forces to the structures or acupoints ofthe foot soles of the user by the contact between the protrusions 30 andthe foot soles.

Optionally, after the protrusions 30 are formed or mounted to the outersurface of the running belt 11, an elastic protective layer is appliedto cover the outer surface of the running belt 11 and the protrusions30. The protective layer can be formed by any suitable materials such asrubber, resin or the like. The protective layer, on one hand, reducesthe wear of the protrusions 30 during exercising, and on the other hand,prevents the user's foot soles from receiving excessive pressure fromthe protrusions 30.

FIGS. 4 and 5A to 5B show the treadmill of the second embodiment of thepresent disclosure. Throughout the drawings, same or similar parts arerepresented by same reference numerals and their detailed explanation isomitted. FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the whole treadmill of thesecond embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5A shows the runningbelt used in the treadmill of the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure, with the running belt being mounted in the treadmill in aknown manner. As shown in FIG. 5A, the second embodiment is differentfrom the first embodiment in that the plurality of protrusions 30disposed on the outer surface of the running belt 11 has the same shapeand size.

FIGS. 5B and 5C show a side view and partly enlarged side view of therunning belt 11 of FIG. 5A respectively. As shown in these two figures,the outer surface of the running belt 11 is formed or provided with theprotrusions 30 of the same shape and size, and the protrusions 30 aredisposed in a constant separating distance. The running belt 11 can bethe same as the running belt 11 of the first embodiment and will notexplained further.

FIGS. 6, 7A and 7B show the treadmill of the third embodiment of thepresent disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, the third embodiment isdifferent from the first and second embodiments in that, in the thirdembodiment, the protrusions are not provided on the running belt, butare provided on the supporting board. Specifically, the supporting board12 is not a flat supporting board as in the former embodiments, and theside of the supporting board 12, which is in contact with the runningbelt 11, is provided with a plurality of upward protrusions 30. In thiscase, as shown in FIG. 6, the running belt 11 can adopt the common flatrunning belt used in the prior art.

FIG. 7B shows an enlarged sectional view of the supporting board 12taken along the line I-I of FIG. 7A. As shown in this figure, theplurality of protrusions 30 are provided on the upper surface of thesupporting board 12, which upper surface being in contact with the innersurface of the running belt 11.

The supporting board 12 can be formed by any suitable material known inthe art, such as plank, rigid resin, metal or other rigid materials. Theprotrusions 30 can be integrally formed on the supporting board 12, sothat the protrusions can be integrally formed with the supporting boardin the same processing step. Optionally, the protrusions 30 can beindividual pieces formed separately and then removably mounted to thesupporting board 12 in any suitable manner such as by snap-locks, screwsor the like. In this case, the supporting board 12 is preferably formedwith engaging features for cooperating with corresponding connectionfeatures of the protrusions 30. For example, the engaging features canbe recesses, screw threads or the like while the connection features canbe inserts to be inserted into the recesses, corresponding screw threadsor the like. Optionally, some of the protrusions 30 are integrallyformed on the supporting board 12, while the remained protrusions areremovably mounted to the supporting board 12. For example, protrusionswhich are larger or smaller than normal protrusions, protrusions havingparticular massaging functions, or protrusions which are likely to bedamaged, can be removably mounted to the supporting board 12 atcorresponding locations. If some protrusions 30 are removably mounted tothe supporting board 12, the material of these protrusions 30 can bedifferent from that of the corresponding part of the supporting board12. For example, the material of these protrusions can be harder orsofter than that of the supporting board 12.

The features about the shape, size and arranging manner of theprotrusions as described in the first and second embodiments are alsoapplicable in the third embodiment. For example, in the treadmill of thethird embodiment, the protrusions 30 can be provided to the supportingboard 12 in a manner similar to that of the protrusions 30 provided onthe running belt 11 in the first or second embodiment. For example, theprotrusions 30 can be irregularly distributed on the supporting board12, as shown in FIG. 6. Further, the separating distances between theprotrusions 30 and their arranging patterns can be variable.

The protrusions 30 can also be regularly distributed on the supportingboard 12. For example, the separating distance between the protrusions30 and their arranging pattern are constant.

Furthermore, in FIG. 6, the protrusions 30 are shown as having differentshapes and/or sizes. Optionally, the protrusions 30 may have the sameshape and/or size.

It should be noted that, the protrusions are intended to apply directpressure force to the acupoints or the reflection areas of the footsoles to stimulate the acupoints or the reflection areas. Thus, thesize(s) of the protrusions should be predetermined for this purpose.Preferably, protrusions with a lateral size of a few millimeters arepreferable for stimulating the acupoints of the foot soles. In thiscase, the arranging density of the protrusions may be about two hundredto about one thousand protrusions per square meter. Meanwhile,protrusions with a hemisphere shape are suitable for stimulating theacupoints of the foot soles.

In the above discussed embodiments, the protrusions 30 provided on therunning belt 11 or on the supporting board 12 are discretely raisedblocks. However, the protrusions 30 may also be formed in other manners,so long as they can provide contact massage to foot soles of the user inexercising. For example, the protrusions 30 can be raised long ribswhich are perpendicular to the moving direction of the running belt 11or form any desired angle with the moving direction. The ribs can extendin any desired length on the outer surface of the running belt or on theupper surface of the supporting board 12.

In the above discussed embodiments, the protrusions 30 are disposed onthe whole surface of the running belt 11 or the supporting board 12.However, it is understood that the protrusions 30 can also be providedon one or more zones of the running belt 11 or the supporting board 12,rather than on the whole running belt 11 or supporting board 12. In thiscase, in the zones without any protrusion, the running belt or thesupporting board is substantially flat.

The present invention is described with reference to its preferredembodiments which are not intended to restrict the scope of the presentinvention. A skilled in the art will readily recognize thatmodifications and changes can be made to the embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present invention, and accordingly allthese modifications and changes may be regarded as falling within thescope of the present invention.

1. A foot massaging treadmill comprising a supporting base mounted closeto the floor, wherein the supporting base comprises a supporting board,an endless running belt slidably extending around the supporting board,and driving rollers for driving the running belt to move around thesupporting board in a longitudinal direction of the supporting board,with the upper surface of the running belt forming a user supportingsurface, and wherein the supporting surface of the running belt providesa plurality of upward protrusions for applying pressure force to theuser's foot soles.
 2. The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 1,wherein the protrusions are provided on the outer surface of the runningbelt and the supporting board is substantially flat.
 3. The footmassaging treadmill according to claim 2, wherein the protrusions areintegrally formed on the running belt.
 4. The foot massaging treadmillaccording to claim 2, wherein the protrusions are single pieces formedseparately and are removably attached to the running belt.
 5. The footmassaging treadmill according to claim 2, wherein some of theprotrusions are integrally formed on the running belt, and the remainingprotrusions are single pieces formed separately and are removablyattached to the running belt.
 6. The foot massaging treadmill accordingto claim 1, wherein the protrusions are provided on the upper surface ofthe supporting board and the running belt is substantially flat.
 7. Thefoot massaging treadmill according to claim 6, wherein the protrusionsare integrally formed on the supporting board.
 8. The foot massagingtreadmill according to claim 6, wherein the protrusions are singlepieces formed separately and are removably attached to the supportingboard.
 9. The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 6, whereinsome of the protrusions are integrally formed on the supporting board,and the remaining protrusions are single pieces formed separately andare removably attached to the supporting board.
 10. The foot massagingtreadmill according to claim 1, wherein the treadmill further comprisesa frame mounted to the front side of the supporting base.
 11. The footmassaging treadmill according to claim 10, wherein the frame compriseshandrails.
 12. The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 10,wherein the treadmill further comprises a control panel mounted to theframe.
 13. The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 1, whereinthe protrusions are regularly distributed.
 14. The foot massagingtreadmill according to claim 13, wherein the protrusions have the sameseparating distance and the same arranging pattern.
 15. The footmassaging treadmill according claim 1, wherein the protrusions areirregularly distributed.
 16. The foot massaging treadmill according toclaim 15, wherein the protrusions have different separating distancesand/or different arranging patterns.
 17. The foot massaging treadmillaccording to claim 1, wherein the protrusions have the same shape andsize.
 18. The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 1, wherein theprotrusions have different shapes and/or sizes.
 19. The foot massagingtreadmill according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions comprises aplurality of sets of protrusions, the shape and/or the size of each setof protrusions are different from that of other sets of protrusions. 20.The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 19, wherein theplurality of sets of protrusions are arranged in an alternating manner.21. The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 19, wherein theouter surface of the running belt is divided into a plurality of zones,each zone containing a set of protrusions of the same shape and size,and the shapes and/or the sizes of the protrusions in different zonesare different from each other.
 22. The foot massaging treadmillaccording to claim 1, wherein the running belt comprises a plurality ofzones, the protrusions are provided in some of the zones.
 23. The footmassaging treadmill according to claim 1, wherein the top surfaces ofthe protrusions, which are to be in contact with the user's foot soles,have smooth transition shapes.
 24. The foot massaging treadmillaccording to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are formed by an elasticrubber material.
 25. The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 2,wherein the running belt and the protrusions are covered with an elasticprotective layer.
 26. The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 1,wherein the protrusions are sized for stimulating the acupoints or thereflection areas of the foot soles.
 27. The foot massaging treadmillaccording to claim 26, wherein the protrusions each have a lateral sizeof a few millimeters, and the arranging density of the protrusions isabout two hundred to about one thousand protrusions per square meter.28. The foot massaging treadmill according to claim 1, wherein theprotrusions each have a hemisphere shape.